Tough weeds, strong stewards, smart technology

Two farming families show by experience how sustainability and dicamba-tolerant technology go hand in hand.

Soybean grower Campbell Cox and cotton grower Hayden Davis live a handful of states apart—one in North Carolina and the other in Texas. But when it comes to using Engenia® herbicide, their approaches to their fields couldn’t be closer.

With herbicide-resistant weeds plaguing many farmers, these two third-generation growers decided to apply thousands of acres of Engenia herbicide on their respective crops in its first year of availability for dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. And they’re quick to share their results.

“For this year, it’s been a very important tool for us,” Davis says. “Best philosophy is, once you start clean, stay clean. With Engenia herbicide, this is one of the better years we’ve had at actually staying on top of the weeds.”

Cox, who applied the herbicide on about half of his 12,000 acres of soybeans, talks about the importance of using Engenia as part of a layered approach.

“Before planting beans, we burn down, and then we use pre's, including Outlook® or Verdict®, and for the post application this year we used Engenia and Outlook,” Cox states.

These two growers both grew up under the mentorship of their grandfathers, which some may argue played a large role in how their farming philosophies developed.

Hayden Davis’ grandfather, Lloyd, marks the 2017 crop as his 55th, dating to the very start of the farming operation. Young Hayden spent summers and many other seasons shadowing his grandfather, riding in the vehicles, stripping cotton, thrashing peanuts, fixing equipment.

As for new technologies like Engenia herbicide, Lloyd says, “I sure want us to be good stewards and keep Engenia because it has really eased us up on our weed pressure.”

Campbell Cox’s grandfather, Marion—known as “Paw-Paw” to the family—started with the purchase of 74 acres in 1962. Today, they’re one of the biggest farming operations in the entire region.

Says Marion, “It’s just unreal…just unbelievable to think that my wife and I started this, and then it amounts to this, with Campbell on board. I tell him every day how proud I am of him.”

With both the Cox and Davis families seeing great success with Engenia herbicide, what do they see the future holding?

“Using this new technology is important for the future of agriculture,” Campbell Cox says. “We have to use it properly to ensure that we don't build resistance immediately from this line of chemistry. We also have to use it properly so that we don't affect others and hurt other people's incomes and other people's ways of life with this technology. We've got to have this going forward.”

Hayden sees new technology and others like it helping him make it for the long haul. “I’m hoping my legacy would be to see two or three of our places being in the family 100 years,” he says, “and I’m the one who has the best chance of seeing it.”

Campbell Cox states it clearly: “This was what we leaned towards. We finally got it. We have to take care of it. We have to use it properly, and it's got to be here for years to come.”

Cox and Davis are just a few growers who have shared their successful experiences with Engenia herbicide. To see everything they have to say, along with comments from other growers, visit BASF’s YouTube channel.